Wednesday Soyuz Launch Will Take New Crew To The Station

When the Dragon COTS vehicle (hopefully) rendezvous with the ISS in February, there will be a full compliment of astronauts on board the station to greet it.

Three new crewmembers are scheduled to lift off for the station aboard a Soyuz FG rocket Wednesday. Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononko will command the mission from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Joining him on the flight will be U.S. astronaut Kon Petit and ESA crewman Andre Kuipers.

The Soyuz is expected to dock with the station Friday.

It will be Petit's second visit to the ISS. He spent six months aboard the station in late 2002 to early 2003.

USA Today reports that the trio makes up the second half of the Expedition 30 crew, which has been at half-staff since an August 24 launch failure of an unmanned Soyuz rocket and subsequent grounding of the Soyuz launch vehicles left the station short three crewmen.

The primary mission of the expedition 30 crew is to study how the human body adapts to long-term exposure to microgravity. They will also, if all goes well, handle the first re-supply of the station by a commercial spacecraft.

The SpaceX Dragon unmanned re-supply vehicle carrying non-essential supplies is scheduled to launch February 7th. It will make a near approach to the station before moving in to be grappled by the outposts' robotic arm and brought in to dock with the Harmony module and deliver its cargo.

The three spacefarers will return to Earth in May. (Image provided by NASA)

FMI: www.nasa.gov